According to medieval and modern sources, a number of Byzantine emperors were allegedly Armenian or of partially Armenian heritage. The following list includes the Byzantine emperors to whom sources attribute Armenian origin. Speculation of Armenian ancestry in emperors remains a wide topic of debate.
In 1891 John Buchan Telfer reported to the Royal Society of Arts several Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin, including Maurice and John Tzimiskes. [8]
The first work on Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin, Armenian Emperors of Byzantium (Armenian : Հայ կայսերք Բիւզանդիոնի), was authored by Fr. Garabed Der-Sahagian and published in 1905 by the Mekhitarist congregation of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in Venice. [9] Anthony Kaldellis suggested that Der-Sahagian extended "western European modes of racial and nationalist historiography to the history of medieval Armenia." Kaldellis believes that it was Nicholas Adontz who "made the search for Armenians in Byzantium into a more scholarly and less romantic nationalist process." However, he is critical of Adontz as he saw "Armenians everywhere and injected them into as many important events as he could." According to Kaldellis it was later endorsed by Peter Charanis and Alexander Kazhdan and "has spread widely in the field of Byzantine Studies." [10] Kazhdan's book Armenians in the Ruling Class of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th-12th Centuries was published by the Armenian Academy of Sciences in Russian in 1975. [11]
Charanis suggested that "every emperor who sat on the Byzantine throne from the accession of Basil I to the death of Basil II (867—1025) was of Armenian or partially Armenian origin." [12] However, he noted that "in Byzantium the ethnic origins of a person was of not significance, provided he integrated himself into its cultural life." [13] Speros Vryonis listed the Heracleian and Macedonian as being of Armenian ancestry, along with individual emperors like Leo V, Romanus I, and John Tzimisces. [14]
Robert H. Hewsen counted "no fewer than sixteen emperors and eleven empresses" of Byzantium of Armenian origin and suggested that Armenians ruled "for almost a third of [the empire's] history." He conceded, however, that "[m]ost of these Armenians, of course, were thoroughly hellenized, membership in the Greek Church being the sine qua non for advancement in the Byzantine world." [15]
Anthony Kaldellis is highly critical of what he calls the "Armenian fallacy" in Byzantine studies to which he dedicated a separate chapter (Armenian fallacy) and a sub-chapter specifically about emperors ('Armenian' emperors) in his 2019 book Romanland: Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium, published by Harvard University Press. [16] He wrote: [17]
The consensual mass hallucination that is the Armenian fallacy has populated Byzantine history with a series of alleged “Armenian” emperors.
Even earlier, in 2008, Kaldellis wrote in a publication for Oxford University Press: [18]
Here our scholarship creates confusion by calling these people, in obedience to the needs of modern nationalism, “Armenians,” “Bulgarians,” “Arabs,” and so on. In the vast majority of cases, however, what they should be called are Romans of Armenian descent (or Slavic, or whatever it might be), and in most cases they should not be called that at all without good reason. There is every indication that they or their immediate descendents were fully assimilated to the customs, language, religion, and social consensus that maintained—and, in fact, constituted—the (Byzantine) Roman nation. It makes as much sense to call the emperors Herakleios or Basileios I “Armenians” as it does to call president Bill Clinton an “Englishman” or Barack Obama a “Kenyan”—even less so, in fact, as the former ethnic attributions are mostly conjectural on our part. There is no evidence that these emperors spoke their supposed “ancestral languages” or knew much about the customs of their supposed ancestor. Yet since Roman national claims have never been taken seriously, Byzantinists have filled the gap with modern ones. It is also no coincidence that modern historians will label a Byzantine as an “Armenian” (or the like) overwhelmingly in cases when a modern nation corresponding to that label still exists and presses its ethnic claims to the past. Peoples who have since lost their lobbying power—for example, Goths, Pechenegs, and many others—have curiously lost their right to similarly colonize the Byzantine “assimilated” subject. This discrepancy reveals the modern dynamic behind this ethnicizing discourse.
Kaldellis' criticisms of the "Armenian fallacy" have been subsequently praised and supported by historians such as Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, [19] Alexander Beihammer, [20] Marek Klatý, [21] and C.J. Meynell, [22] among others. [23] Toby Bromige wrote that Kaldellis "may at times seem dismissive of the depth and influence that Armenians had within Byzantium, especially the strength of ancestral descent in certain individuals, but he correctly identifies a lack of relevant historical investigation and precision." [24]
| Portrait | Name | Reign | Dynasty | Comments and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-Macedonian | ||||
 | Maurice | 582–602 (20 years) | Justinian | Medieval Armenian chroniclers such as Stepanos Taronetsi and Kirakos Gandzaketsi claim Maurice to be of Armenian origin. [25] Modern scholarship, however, does not have a consensus. Krzysztof Stopka writes that it is generally regarded as a legend. [26] It has been accepted by Nicholas Adontz, [27] Peter Charanis, [lower-alpha 1] Henri Grégoire, [13] Robert H. Hewsen, [15] but rejected by others, such as Paul Goubert. [29] Walter Kaegi described him as "of probable Armenian origin." [30] Anthony Kaldellis argues that his Armenian ancestry is "largely unknown to historians who study his reign" and that "no contemporary source—and there are many— mentions it." He considers the medieval Armenian chronicles to be "Armenian folktales" and notes that "[n]one of the names in his extended family are Armenian". [31] A. E. Redgate is also skeptical; as the "counter-arguments, in his case, seem overwhelming." [32] |
 | Heraclius | 610–641 (31 years) | Heraclian | The son of Heraclius the Elder, who is generally recognized by scholars as an Armenian. [40] [lower-alpha 2] According to the 7th century Armenian historian Sebeos, Heraclius was related to the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia. [42] Hewsen talked of the Heraclids being "of royal Arsacid origin." [15] Redgate considers his Armenian origin likely. [32] Walter Kaegi notes that Heraclius was presumably "bilingual (Armenian and Greek) from an early age, but even this is uncertain." [33] Kaldellis argues that his Armenian origin "takes the prize for fiction masquerading as history" and that statements regarding his ancestry "have been woven out of thin air". [43] He notes that "there is not a single primary source that says that Herakleios was an Armenian" and, moreover, "none of the names in his extended family are Armenian, and this in an age when Armenian generals in Roman service kept their native names and did not always switch to Graeco-Roman ones". [43] He writes that this assertion about Heraclius' ancestry is based on an erroneous reading of Theophylact Simocatta. In a letter, Priscus, a general who had replaced Heraclius the Elder, wrote to him "to leave the army and return to his own city in Armenia". Kaldellis interprets it as the command headquarters of Heraclius the Elder, and not his home town, since "[i]t would make no sense in the context of the narrative for Philippikos to send Herakleios “home.”". [44] According to historian Benjamin Anderson, Kaldellis "effectively debunks the received wisdom" on Heraclius's origins. [45] |
 | Mizizios | 668–669 (1 year) | — ( usurper ) | Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship. [46] [47] [48] He came from the Gnuni family. [49] |
 | Philippicus Bardanes | 711–713 (2 years) | Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship. [lower-alpha 3] [54] Kaldellis disputes this view, pointing to his anti-Armenian policies such as his decision to expel all Armenians from the empire, forcing them to seek refuge among the Arabs, (though this wasn't fully enforced) and his later decree ordering all Armenians to accept the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople. According to Kaldellis, this "shows that despite his ancestry he was not, and did not consider himself to be, 'an Armenian,' as some modern historians call him" and speculated that he may have been Persian. [55] | |
 | Artabasdos | 741–743 (2 years) | — ( usurper ) | Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship. [56] [57] [15] Nina Garsoïan suggests that he hailed from the Mamikonian house. [58] Kaldellis believes that we "do not know enough about the first [i.e. Artabasdos] to have an interesting discussion of his ethnicity." [59] |
 | Leo V | 813–820 (7 years) | non-dynastic | Scholars agree that he was at least partly of Armenian origin. [lower-alpha 4] [66] According to Jenkins, was certainly of Armenian stock on one side. He is said to have been 'Assyrian', that is, Syrian, on the other: but this is perhaps attached to him owing to his heretical and iconoclastic beliefs, and to the fact that he modelled himself on the great iconoclast conqueror Leo III, to whom Syrian descent was more certainly attributed. [67] He is the only emperor to be nicknamed "Armenian" by Byzantine historians. [1] Armenian chronicles claimed he was an Artsruni. [68] Kaldellis notes that his "ancestry is said to have been Armenian, Assyrian, and Amalekite (a biblical ethnonym), whatever exactly those terms may have meant in a late eighth-century context." [59] He also writes that "we have no evidence for how Leon V acknowledged, tried to hide or counter, or ameliorated his “ethnic” background as emperor". [59] |
 | Constantine | 813–820 (7 years) | co-emperor non-dynastic | The son of Leo V the Armenian. |
 | Michael III | 842–867 (25 years) | Amorian | His mother, Theodora, the wife of Theophilos, is considered by some scholars to have been, at least partly, of Armenian origin. [71] [lower-alpha 5] Kaldellis argues that "As the restorer of icons in 843, many texts discuss her, yet none refers to her Armenian ethnicity." [72] |
 | Theodora | 842–856 (14 years) | Amorian | Empress regnant during the minority of Michael III. [73] [74] Considered by some scholars to have been, at least partly, of Armenian origin. [77] [lower-alpha 6] Kaldellis wrote that no source (Byzantine or Medieval Armenian) refers to her as an Armenian, or as being of Armenian descent. [78] |
Macedonian dynastyThe Macedonian dynasty, which ruled the empire between 867 and 1056, has been called the "Armenian dynasty" by some scholars such as George Bournoutian [79] and Mack Chahin. [80] Zachary Chitwood suggests the term Macedonian dynasty is "something of a misnomer" because of the Armenian origin of Basil I, the dynasty's founder. [81] | ||||
| Portrait | Name | Reign | Dynasty | Comments and notes |
 | Basil I | 867–886 (19 years) | Macedonian | His father is considered by many to be of Armenian origin. [85] The Armenian descent of his mother is debated. [lower-alpha 7] [87] Her name, which is Greek, points to a Greek origin for her. [88] [89] Medieval Armenian historians Samuel Anetsi and Stepanos Taronetsi claimed that he hailed from the region of Taron. [82] He is also "presumed to have descended from the kingly house of the Arsacids." [63] Kaldellis calls the Arsacid connection "propaganda", aimed to confer legitimacy upon Basil's alleged "royal" and "biblical" origins [lower-alpha 8] and additionally meant to give "diplomatic leverage in his dealings with the empire’s Armenian neighbors". [91] He wrote: "The Romans generally called Basileios a Macedonian, from his provincial origin, rather than an Armenian, and some Arabic texts call him a Slav. [lower-alpha 9] A fierce debate has, predictably, raged among scholars over the issue, as if there could be a single “truth” about his ancestry (the entire debate is premised on the idea of racial purity)." [93] |
 | Romanos I Lekapenos | 920–944 (24 years) | Macedonian/ Lekapenos | According to some scholars. [62] [86] [64] [94] Charanis wrote that Romanos Lekapenos was "definitely known to have been of Armenian origin." [86] According to Mark Whittow Romanos "seem[s] to have been Armenian." [64] According to Kaldellis, Romanos is discussed in many Byzantine sources, "but none of them calls him an Armenian," but because his father came from humble origin he was assumed to have been Armenian. "His alleged ethnicity has been repeated so often in the literature that it has acquired the status of a known fact, even though it is based on the most tenuous of indirect connections," wrote Kaldellis. [95] |
 | Nikephoros II Phokas | 963–969 (9 years) | Macedonian | According to some scholars he was of at least partial Armenian descent. [36] [lower-alpha 10] Kaldellis notes that recent scholarship has correctly removed his family's name from the list of Byzantine families of "Armenian" origin, writing that it had been placed there originally for "flimsy (i.e., nonexistent) reasons". [96] |
 | John I Tzimiskes | 969–976 (8 years) | Macedonian | Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship. [99] [lower-alpha 11] According to the medieval Armenian chronicler Matthew of Edessa Tzimiskes was from the region of Khozan, from the area which is now called Chmushkatzag." [101] Kaldellis is skeptical, calling the grounds for his Armenian origin "extremely weak", noting that "Tzimiskes" was a nickname given to him by Armenian soldiers serving under him, referring to his short statute, and not a family name. [102] Evaluating the evidence, he concludes that "No ethnicity or even distant ancestry can be proposed based on such evidence". [103] |
Post-Macedonian | ||||
 | Andronikos III Palaiologos | 1328–1341 (13 years) | Palaiologos | His mother, Rita-Maria, was the daughter of Leo II, King of Armenian Cilicia, and sister of Hethum II. [104] [105] [106] |
Heraclius was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas.
Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantinos; 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was de jure Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the younger son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano. He was nominal co-emperor since 962, successively with his father; stepfather, Nikephoros II Phokas; uncle, John I Tzimiskes; and brother, Basil II. Basil's death in 1025 left Constantine as the sole emperor. He occupied the throne for 66 years in total, making him de jure the longest-reigning amongst all Roman emperors since Augustus.
Photios I, also spelled Photius, was the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople from 858 to 867 and from 877 to 886. He is recognized in the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Photios the Great.
Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian", was Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gaining the favour of Emperor Michael III, whose mistress he married on his emperor's orders. In 866, Michael proclaimed him co-emperor. Fearing a loss of influence, Basil orchestrated Michael's assassination the next year and installed himself as sole ruler of the empire. He was the first ruler of the Macedonian dynasty.
Philippicus was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. During his brief reign, Philippicus supported monothelitism in Byzantine theological disputes, and saw conflict with the First Bulgarian Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate.
Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos, Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of the young Constantine VII.
Michael I Rangabé was Byzantine emperor from 811 to 813.
John I Tzimiskes was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to include Thrace and Syria by warring with the Rus' under Sviatoslav I and the Fatimids respectively.
Leo VI, also known as Leothe Wise, was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty, he was very well read, leading to his epithet. During his reign, the renaissance of letters, begun by his predecessor Basil I, continued; but the empire also saw several military defeats in the Balkans against Bulgaria and against the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean. His reign also witnessed the formal discontinuation of several ancient Roman institutions, such as the separate office of Roman consul.
The Macedonian dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Early Muslim conquests, and the Macedonian Renaissance in letters and arts began. The dynasty was named after its founder, Basil I the Macedonian who came from the theme of Macedonia.
John VII, surnamed Grammatikos or Grammaticus, i.e., "the Grammarian", was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from January 21, 837 to March 4, 843, died before 867. He is not to be confused with the much earlier philosopher John Philoponos.
Byzantine Armenia, sometimes known as Western Armenia, is the name given to the parts of Kingdom of Armenia that became part of the Byzantine Empire. The size of the territory varied over time, depending on the degree of control the Byzantines had over Armenia.
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred in Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The eastern half of the Empire survived the conditions that caused the fall of the West in the 5th century AD, and continued to exist until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the Mediterranean world. The term "Byzantine Empire" was only coined following the empire's demise; its citizens referred to the polity as the "Roman Empire" and to themselves as "Romans". Due to the imperial seat's move from Rome to Byzantium, the adoption of state Christianity, and the predominance of Greek instead of Latin, modern historians continue to make a distinction between the earlier Roman Empire and the later Byzantine Empire.
The Chronicle of Monemvasia is a medieval text of which four versions, all written in medieval Greek, are extant. The author of the account is currently unknown. The Chronicle, specifically the version from the Iberikon monastery, narrates the events that depict the Avaro-Slavic conquest and colonization of mainland Greece, covering a period from 587 to 805 AD. Despite its compelling narrative, the Chronicle is not an actual chronicle. The text represents a compilation of sources involving Avars and Slavs and focuses on the foundation of the metropolitan see of Patras. It is possible that the Chronicle was actually used in negotiations with the metropolitan of Corinth over the status of the metropolitan of Patras.
Phokas or Phocas (Latinized), feminine form Phokaina or Phocaena, was the name of a Byzantine aristocratic clan from Cappadocia, which in the 9th and 10th centuries provided a series of high-ranking generals and an emperor, Nikephoros II Phokas. Its members and their clients monopolized the high-command positions of the Byzantine army for much of the 10th century and led the successful Byzantine offensive against the Arabs in the East. As one of the leading families of the Anatolian military aristocracy, the Phokades were also involved in a series of rebellions that laid claim to power and challenged the emperors at Constantinople. Their power was eventually broken by Basil II, and the family declined in importance after the 11th century.
The Skleros, latinized Sclerus, feminine form Skleraina (Σκλήραινα), Latinized Scleraena, was a noble Byzantine family active mostly in the 9th–11th centuries as members of the military aristocracy, and as civil functionaries thereafter.
Byzantine Anatolia refers to the peninsula of Anatolia during the rule of the Byzantine Empire. Anatolia was of vital importance to the empire following the Muslim invasion of Syria and Egypt during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the years 634–645 AD. Over the next two hundred and fifty years, the region suffered constant raids by Arab Muslim forces raiding mainly from the cities of Antioch, Tarsus, and Aleppo near the Anatolian borders. However, the Byzantine Empire maintained control over the Anatolian peninsula until the High Middle Ages, when imperial authority in the area began to collapse.
Krinites or Krenites Arotras was a Byzantine aristocrat and military governor in southern Greece. He is most notable for suppressing a Slavic revolt in the Peloponnese in 921/22.
Eulogios the Persian was an 9th-century Byzantine figure, who played a role in the aftermath of the assassination of Michael III and the succession of Basil I to the throne.
Armenians in the Byzantine Empire were the most significant ethnic minority at some times. Historically, this was due to the fact that part of historical Armenia, west of the Euphrates, was part of Byzantium. After the division of Armenia between the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire in 387, part of Greater Armenia was annexed to the Empire. At this time and later, there were significant migrations of Armenians to Byzantine Anatolia, Constantinople and the European part of the Empire. The Armenians occupied a prominent place in the ruling class of Byzantium, with a number of emperors coming from their ranks: Heraclius I (610–641), Philippicus (711–713), Artabasdos (742–743), Leo the Armenian (813–820), Basil I Macedonian (867–886) and the dynasty he founded, Romanos I Lekapenos (920–944) and John Tzimiskes (969–976). According to the calculations of Alexander Kazhdan, Armenians made up 10–15% of the ruling aristocracy in the 11th-12th centuries; taking into account persons and families whose Armenian origin is not entirely certain, this proportion becomes much higher. Due to the fact that Armenia did not recognise the Fourth Council of Chalcedon (451), the relations between Byzantium and Armenia were influenced by the attempts of the official Byzantine Church to convert the Armenian Church to Chalcedonian Armenians. Many Armenians played an important role in the Greco-Roman world and in Byzantium.
However, Leo V (813-20) is the only emperor who has been officially recognized as an Armenian by the Byzantine historians.
A stone obelisk marking his home is shown to visitors in the Armenian village of Oshakan...
Թեև գյուղացոց մեջ ընդհանուր համոզում կամ ավանդություն է թե Մորիկ կայսեր մոր գերեզմանն է։
...Օշականում Մորիկ կայսեր կամ նրա մորը վերագրվող 7-րդ դարի հուշասյան...
Տեղի բնակչությունը համարում է գերեզմանաքարը Մորիկ կայսեր մոր, որն ըստ ավանդության հայ է եղել և ծնունդով օշականցի։
The Heracleian dynasty, Leo V, the Macedonian dynasty, Romanus I, and John Tzimisces are the primary examples.
Most recently, Kaldellis, Romanland, pp. 155–195, has (legitimately) discussed what he calls the "Armenian fallacy", that is the tendency in scholarship to identify individual member of the Byzantine elite as "Armenian" even several generations after the immigration of their ancestors and their integration into the Eastern Roman polity with regard to language, religion and identity. For a similar case regarding the Abbasid Caliphate see now Preiser-Kapeller, "ʻAlī ibn Yaḥyā al-Armanī".
Kaldellis debunks the notion that high-ranking dignitaries and even emperors built their careers on the grounds of Armenian family background and loyalties as an "Armenian fallacy" introduced by nationalist trends, and demonstrates how tenuous the evidence of an individual's Armenian descent is in most cases...his analysis of the Armenian fallacy problem is superbly persuasive
The author aptly calls this the 'Armenian fallacy' of the scholarly community. Because such an interpretation of ethnicity is based on biological and false cultural continuity and does not consider the formation of identity based on the principle of cultural integration and assimilation.
Following the same pattern, in the fifth chapter he deals in particular with "The Armenian Fallacy" (pp. 155–195), that is the pervasive absurd claim that many Romans, just because they had (some) Armenian descent, had not been assimilated and acted as an Armenian power group within Romanía. Most amusing is the subchapter "'Armenian' Emperors", in that it effectively exposes the fallacy's line of (often racial) thought in assuming such descent for some of the Roman monarchs. The chapter is not to deny the Armenian origins of many Romans but to expose the field's outdated tendency to "dig up" ethnic Armenians among perfectly Roman elites.
Բյուզանդական կայսր Մորիկը [...] Ըստ հայ մատենագիրների տեղեկությունների՝ նա ծագումով հայ է։ Այս մասին տեղեկություններ կան Շապուհի, Ստեփանոս Տարոնեցու, Կիրակոս Գանձակեցու և այլ պատմիչների մոտ։ Նորագույն ուսումնասիրողներից ոմանք ժխտում են նրա հայկական ծագումը։
Some Armenian chronicles [...] write that the Emperor Maurice had Armenian roots. Generally this is regarded as a legend.
...another emperor of probable Armenian origin, Maurice.
The preponderance of evidence points to an Armenian origin for Heraclius the Elder...
The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (r. 610-640) was the son of an Armenian... [...] In 867 Basil I (r. 867-886), whose father was also Armenian...
Some of the greatest Byzantine emperors — Nicephorus Phocas, John Tzimisces and probably Heraclius — were of Armenian descent.
Most contemporary historians agree that Heraclius was of Armenian background.
The Byzantine aristocracy that emerged during the Dark Ages was to a considerable extent Armenian; and several Armenians mounted the imperial throne, beginning with the great Heraclius himself.15
This exception is Mjej Gnouni (Graece Mizizios), an Armenian immigrant of the first generation. Mjej succeeded in 668 in assassinating his master Constans II...
...the Armenian general Mzez Gnouni, or Mizizios, as he is called in the Greek sources [...] was acclaimed emperor.
Once they had buried him, they named Mizizios — an Armenian — Emperor...
...the Armenian Vardan or Philippicus (711-13)...
Bardanes Philippicus, Armenian Emperor of 711-713
In 710 an insurrection broke out against Justinian 11 and the Armenian Bardanes (711-13) appeared with a fleet off Constantinople; Justinian was deposed and killed and Bardanes was proclaimed emperor.
...the Armenian general Artavasdos. [...] Because Artavasdos was Armenian...
...usurper (742–43).An Armenian (Toumanoff, "Caucasia" 135), Artabasdos was appointed strategos of the Armeniakon...online
On the contrary, Leo II's iconodule son-in-law, Artavasdos, still kept the traditional name, which identified unmistakably his descent from the Armenian Mamikonean house...
Leo was of Armenian descent.online
...a number of important military leaders and civil administrators were Armenian, including emperors Leo V, Basil I, Romanos I Lekapenos, and John I Tzimiskes.
Emperor Leo V (813-20), previously a soldier and by race an Armenian. The emperor Basil I (867-86) is presumed to have descended from the kingly house of the Arsacids [...] the Armenian John I Tzimiskes (969-76)...
Four emperors — Leo V, Basil I, Romanos I and John Tzimiskes — seem to have been Armenian, as well as the empress Theodora, Theophilos' wife...
Leo V. was not the first Armenian1 who occupied the Imperial throne. 1 = On one side his parentage was "Assyrian," which presumably means Syrian.
In 813, Leon V, known in history as "The Armenian," was enthroned by the army, which had just inflicted a severe defeat upon the Bulgarians. The Armenian chroniclers call him Leon Ardzruni.
...she was of Armenian descent...
He was also born of and married to Armenian women (Thekla and Theodora)...
...she was of Armenian descent...
He was also born of and married to Armenian women (Thekla and Theodora)...
....the later Macedonian dynasty, according to most Byzantinists, was of Armenian origin as well. [...] Ironically, it was this same Armenian dynasty which was chiefly responsible for the breakup of the Bagratuni kingdom.
Ο Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών θεωρεῖται ἀρμενικῆς καταγωγῆς , ἡ μήτηρ του ὅμως ἐλέγετο Παγκαλὼ καὶ ἦτο ἑπομένως Ελληνίς.
Seine Mutter Pankalo (# 5679) ist wohl griechischer
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)John was a general of Armenian origin....online (archived)
Another Armenian emperor was John Tzimiskes (969–976), one of the most brilliant conquerors ever to sit on the throne...
...in 1295 , he married a sister of the King of Armenia called Rita or Maria . She gave him two sons and two daughters . The elder of the sons was named , in the Byzantine custom , after his grandfather and became the Emperor Andronikos III...
...Rita-Maria, an Armenian princess who had married Michael IX and who was the mother of Andronikos III...